Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.

From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.

Charitable Giving: Choosing a Cause for your Business

I recently attended Hopelink’s 17^th annual Reaching Out Benefit Luncheon, featuring Jeanette Walls, bestselling author of The Glass Castle. The event was excellently done, and saw a turnout from a variety of local and national businesses, including Comcast, NBCUniversal, Boeing, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Nordstrom and Lane Powell. The variety of corporate sponsorship led me to think: What are the best practices around deciding to which charities your company and brand want to dedicate time and funding? Furthermore, how can a company get involved in their community, outside of donations?

After researching what others had to say on the topic, I came up with the following items to think through when choosing a cause for your business to support.

Consider your Corporate Values

If you have established values (see Communique’s values here), this is the perfect instance to reference them. Keep your values in mind when thinking about the cause you want to support, and be cognizant of the fact that this is a business opportunity, not a personal one. When determining what your potential charity’s values are, it’s important to…

Research the Organization (and Its Values), not Just the Cause

One of the difficulties of choosing a charitable organization to partner with is that, even when you narrow down your criteria (i.e., aSeattle-based environmental organization), it is difficult to immediately differentiate between one organization and another. Put in time understanding how the organization addresses its cause—what work do they do, exactly? Does this align with your values? An excellent way to do this is to…

Contribute Time, not Just Money

Volunteering as a group can be an excellent team – building exercise and can also give you an understanding of how the organization achieves its goals. One way companies can go about encouraging employee volunteerism is through tools like Volunteer Match and HandsOn Network, which can help you establish an employee volunteer program within your organization. Another way to get involve outside of direct donations is to…

Co-Sponsor an Event

I mentioned the Hopelink luncheon as an example of an event your company could co-sponsor. There are many alternatives in this space. For example, on Jan. 1, 2010, HandsOn Network and Disney launched “Give A Day, Get A Day“ which rewarded participants for a day’s worth of public service with a free day’s admission to a Disney theme park. This event allowed Disney to play a role in the overall cause of increased community volunteerism, and had over 1 million participants within 12 weeks. While this event was national, the sentiment can be scaled down to a local level if that aligns better with your business’ values and capabilities. This brings me to my last point, which is…

Think Scale: Local, Global, or Both?

When determining with which charitable organization you would like your company to be involved, a big component you need to think through is scale. Are you representing a small Seattle business? There are plenty of opportunities to get involved locally. Are you representing an international consulting firm? You might consider aligning your international business goals with charitable giving to microfinance institutions that promote entrepreneurial ventures in the developing world, or dedicate your time to an organization promoting education abroad. Thinking through what scale is right for your business is an important element to deciding in what charity your business wants to be involved.

Of course, it is not necessary to have just one organization that your business is committed to—nor is it necessary to have any. If you are looking for a way to promote your values at a local or global level, thoughtful charitable giving is an excellent strategy. Additionally, it can provide great opportunities for team building, morale improvement, and positive publicity. Most importantly, of course, is that it gives your business an opportunity to give back.

For more on selecting a cause, check out:

Heather Campbell

Lessons From a White House Press Secretary

I recently attended the PRSA Puget Sound annual meeting where I had an opportunity to hear Scott McClellan, former White House press secretary under President George Bush, provide a spokesperson’s perspective from inside the West Wing.

After hearing and considering Scott’s comments, it reminded me that some of the lessons he learned are important to recall and apply across the board in public relations. Here are three I want to highlight:

It’s OK to disagree. Scott openly proclaimed his disagreement with former President Bush’s decision to begin the Iraq War. At the same time, however, Scott acknowledged his belief that Bush was sincere in his approach to the war and that Bush believed it was the right decision at the time. While Scott’s personal beliefs differed from those of his boss, he remained committed to the job and performed at 100 percent. As public relations professionals, it is our job to develop a point of view and provide our recommendation on a number of situations, issues, plans, etc. But when our perspective doesn’t necessarily coincide with our client or boss, we still have an obligation to do the job we were hired to do – and do it well.
Push for information you need to make a decision. Two and a half months after taking the White House press secretary job, Scott faced having to exonerate Scooter Libby in the identity leak of Central Intelligence Agency officer Valerie Plame Wilson. Particularly in crisis situations, PR pros won’t always have as much information as we’d like before making a decision. When possible, though, we should seek to gather all the information possible to form an educated opinion and decide next steps.
Remain nimble as the industry evolves. The rise of blogs and social media impacted Scott during his tenure as press secretary. Rather than ignore it, or see how this new media approach played out, Scott embraced it: He was the first press secretary to allow a blogger into the media room. He also offered Web chats and provided video tours of the briefing rooms. We won’t always be successful in every risk we take, but it’s important to try different approaches and shift our strategies and tactics based on new technology.

So, what do you think? Is McClellan’s advice applicable to your role? What are your experiences as a spokesperson?

“10 Lessons Learned From the Campaign” Webinar From PRDaily & Brad Phillips

I recently participated in Ragan PRDaily’s Webinar, “10 Lessons Learned from the Campaign,“ hosted by Brad Phillips. Phillips is the president of Phillips Media Relations and writes “the world’s most-visited media training blog”, Mr. Media Training. In the webinar, Phillips offered a list of 10 media lessons learned during the 2012 presidential campaign. Here are four favorites:

1.) Use straightforward language.

Since CNN went on air in 1980, voters have subsequently spent more time listening to candidates speak. It appears that consequently, the candidate with greater intellectual appeal tends to not win the election.

Communicating in everyday language is essential, Phillips notes. The example from the campaign that Phillips used to this end is Bill Clinton’s acclaimed speech at the Democratic National Convention. Obama referred to Clinton as “our nation’s explainer-in-chief,” because he was able to convey complicated policy issues in an easy-to-understand format.

With a sound bite averaging 10-30 words, clarity and simplicity are key.

2.) Nothing said in public is ever private.

In today’s media landscape, you never know who is filming or recording your statements — and this information can be instantly broadcast. For this lesson, Phillips referred to the now infamous “47% video” of candidate Mitt Romney. This gaffe was widely broadcast, and referred to by Romney’s opponent in the official presidential debate. The lesson here? Stay on message, no matter what, when you’re in any type of public setting.

3.) Don’t leave anything to chance.

Phillips used the example of Clint Eastwood’s speech on the Republican National Convention, which Eastwood admitted was not planned out well in advance. In moments where the media is going to be carefully analyzing each aspect of a speech or presentation, don’t leave anything to chance. Gaffes happen even in the most planned and rehearsed media actions—don’t leave additional room for error. The media and the public have a high standard for pre-planned presentations; it’s not worth the risk of not incorporating detailed event planning into your strategy.

4.) Have a plan for brain freezes.

However, even if you carefully plan media engagements, you stick with clear language, and you are consistently on message, moments of confusion still happen—it’s human nature. Whether someone is a candidate or an executive, even intelligent, well-spoken individuals are still susceptible to “brain freezes.”

Phillips gave several examples of brain freezes along the 2012 campaign trail, including the Republican primary debate in which Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, proposed to cut three agencies from government support—but could not name all three. While the gaffe was almost laughable, instances like this can be seriously detrimental to images, brands and campaigns alike.

Unfortunately, when under pressure and while running on intense schedules, brain freezes like this can be a side effect. The solution? Think through a few general talking points that will minimize the impact of drawing a blank, and that remain on message/ brand.

The 2012 U.S. presidential campaign was unprecedented in media coverage and engagement. The high- stress, high-stakes nature of the campaign provided a few vivid examples of why media training and preparation is essential for anyone in a highly visible position.

A big thank you to Brad Phillips and Ragan’s PR Daily for the excellent webinar. Make sure to check out Phillips’ blog, Mr. Media Training, for more tips.

For more on the 2012 presidential campaign from Communique, look to:

The Great Debate: Know Your Spokesperson’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Social media and democracy: What can business learn from election campaigns?

Tips, Tricks and Lists: How Short and Sweet is Memorable

Media resources continue to remain tight and more and more outlets are relying on contributed content. This presents a great opportunity for organizations to position themselves as thought leaders in their respective industries.

But what types of stories tend to resonate with editors and readers? When I’m writing blog posts, I typically write about tips, and there is a reason: People tend to scan rather than deeply read and absorb articles. Articles that are in the form of lists or quick tips provide the key takeaways quickly and clearly. I came across an article in Ragan’s called, “3 reasons list stories work,” written by Lydia Howard, that suggests why list stories are the way to go.

Consider the following:

People Have Short Attention Spans. People have a limited amount of time and often receive news and information on the go. This means you only have a limited time to make your point. SocialTimes posted an infographic that suggests social media has shortened our attention span from 12 minutes to five minutes. People are more impatient and they want information quickly. Short and sweet also makes an article easier to share. For example, a tweet that reads “Learn five tips for better buying” is more enticing than a tweet that points to an essay about the evolution of the buying experience.
You Can Be Bold. With a list or tip story, your point can usually be one compelling sentence per tip. You can include explanations following your statement, but the bold statements help to keep it memorable.
Your Content Lasts Longer. Howard points out that in-depth articles typically analyze current events or trends. This means that the article can become irrelevant more quickly. With list or tip stories, you are typically providing guidance that can be useful months down the road.

We partnered with our client Attachmate to pitch a list story that highlighted the “Top File Transfer Headaches and How to Find Relief.” The article set up a problem and provided five potential headaches an organization may face when transferring files and what solutions are available. The article appeared in Data Center Journal and positioned Attachmate’s Sam Morris as a thought leader in the industry. The five headaches are bold, memorable and still relevant today.

When developing a pitch for media, consider pitching a list-format story. It helps condense the points you want to get across and can have a big impact on readers.

The Power of Mission & Vision Statements

Clearly defined mission and vision statements can be powerful for people and businesses. They can help provide focus and inspiration as well as provide another point of reference when making decisions.

A mission statement is centered on what you set out to do, and a vision statement is focused on the end result. It is a picture of how the landscape will look after you’ve been through it – your ideal.

At Communiqué PR, we recently took the time to develop a formal mission and vision statement. Our process involved the following:

Taking a close look and doing significant thinking about who we are, what we are trying to accomplish, and what we can become.
Examining the branding work we did in partnership with GKD several years ago in-conjunction with the development of Communiqué PR’s website.
Reflecting on the input from various staff members.
Reviewing other company’s and leaders’ mission and vision statements.

Finally, as we drafted and refined these statements, we paid close attention to semantics, and weighed the pros and cons of various word choices in expressing our mission and vision, and considered the interests of the target audience (staff, freelancers, customers and partners). Our goal was to ensure our statements were not only accurate and credible, but also affirming and motivating.

The results of our work were the following mission and vision statements:

Our mission is to help clients move product, sell services and grow brands through high-quality strategic communications programs.
Our vision is to be the best Seattle-based strategic communications company, expert at delivering value and results that make the world a better place for people and businesses alike.

We want to draw attention to the words “best” and “better place.” We want to be recognized as the best for our people, processes, results, reputation and clients. We also want to work with companies who are striving to bring good things to life for the betterment of people or other businesses.

We recognize that our mission and vision statements will grow and change as Communiqué PR evolves. Nonetheless, we believe having a defined mission and vision statement will have major impact on our operations and ability to achieve our short- and long-term business objectives.

If your organization does not have a defined mission and vision, I would encourage you to establish them. They are powerful tools that can help a company make consistent decisions, build unity and enhance communication. Furthermore, we each play a role in creating the future so it’s critical that we, as a company and as individuals, get as clear as possible about what we are trying to achieve.

Jennifer Gehrt & Team

Six Uses for Word Clouds in Business

According to Wikipedia, a word cloud is defined as: “… [A] visual representation for text data, typically used to depict keyword metadata (tags) on websites, or to visualize free form text. Tags are usually single words, and the importance of each tag is shown with font size or color.” You may have seen a word cloud in recent coverage about the presidential debates or on a blog, but businesses can use them as well to attract and inform customers.

I recently read an article, “6 Fun and Interesting Ways Businesses Can Use Word Clouds,” that had some great tips, including:

Use your most popular corporate blog posts to develop a word cloud – This could show you what is most important for your readers and customers, but could also inform your priorities for next year’s planning or help you identify topics to address on the blog.
Pull copy from your company’s website and/or marketing materials to create a word cloud – Use it as your company’s Facebook cover photo or Twitter header image.
Conduct a survey of your customers and develop a word cloud from the responses – Share results by posting the image on your website or via social media. You could even identify word clouds based on positive feedback and constructive criticism to highlight the company’s strengths and areas for growth.

In addition to the tips above, consider other options for using a word cloud:

Poll your employees about their perceptions on company culture, performance, etc. – Share the results internally on an Intranet or company-wide email and communicate about plans to improve, evolve or continue employee programs.
Create a word cloud from your company’s vision and mission statements – Display it in the office to communicate them to guests in a fun and visual way.
Generate a word cloud from your customer list – For customers who have agreed to be named publicly, include the word cloud on your website and other marketing materials to show your customer roster in an interesting way.

Free word cloud tools are available from Wordle and Tagxedo. What creative ways have you used word clouds?

Insights for Leaders Navigating Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.